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House bill passes to allow event ticket resales

The Minnesota House passed a bill today that would allow people who buy tickets to sporting events or concerts to resell them or give them away.

Several major ticket sellers prohibit the resale of tickets on the secondary market. Rep. Deb Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, believes people who buy tickets should not have any restrictions on what they do with them.

"When I buy a ticket, I should have the right to use my ticket or to give my ticket to somebody else and that's what this bill starts to do," Hilstrom said.

Opponents of the legislation say it would give more power to scalpers and secondary ticket sellers and make ticket prices more expensive for consumers.

"These tickets are being resold on the secondary market at much higher prices and I think we owe it to the consumers in Minnesota to make sure that we're protecting them and not the companies that are doing the resale of the tickets," said Rep. Kurt Daudt, R-Crown.

The vote in the House was 83-to-50. A committee in the Senate has approved the legislation but it has not received a vote by the full Senate.